Paes/ Stepanek and Bhupathi/ Bopanna drawn in separate groups in London ATP Finals

India’s top doubles stars were drawn in separate groups at the ATP World Tour Finals in London which kicked off at the O2 Arena.

Leander Paes and Czech partner were drawn in Group A while Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna were drawn in Grouup B in the season ending event which brings together the top 8 teams in the world, based on results from this year. This means that the two teams cannot meet before the semi finals in London.

Along with Paes/ Stepanek, the other teams in Group A are World no. 1′s and three time former champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer. Meanwhile accompanying Bhupathi/ Bopanna in the other group are defending champions Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor, Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau, and Wimbledon champions Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen. All teams in one group play each other in a round robin format with the top 2 in each group moving into the semi finals.

Paes and Stepanek won the Australian Open and Miami Masters titles to book their spot in the eight team field, while Bhupathi and Bopanna were the last team in but come in on the back of their big win at the Paris Masters on Sunday.

Three-time former champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have been drawn in Group A alongside Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. They will also contest round-robin play against Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer.

In early Group B action, Mirnyi and Nestor scored a 4-6, 7-6(1), 12-10 win over fourth seeds Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau